Fourth annual Local Food Challenge held next week
The High Desert Food and Farm Alliance (HDFFA) is excited to announce their fourth annual Local Food Challenge from Sept. 23-29.
HDFFA invites the public to pledge to eat something local every day during the week of the Local Food Challenge. Participants are entered to win prizes by answering daily trivia, trying new foods, and taking actions such as posting to social media, watching a video, volunteering to glean food for the food bank and more!
This Challenge is free and open to all Central Oregonians. Every day someone can win local food! Daily winners are chosen at random from those that take the challenge, and at the end of the week a grand prize winner will receive $75 worth of local food, an autumnal basket of specialty products, and a chef’s knife!
Participants of the Local Food Challenge increase their chances of being drawn for the daily and grand prizes by completing daily mini-challenges. Examples of mini-challenges include naming inseason vegetables, visiting the farmers market, thanking a local food business for sourcing locally, or submitting a photo of a local food experience. Participants can earn additional points by sharing their challenges to Facebook or Instagram and using the hashtag #HDFFA or #TasteCentralOregon.
The purpose of the challenge is to get Central Oregonians more familiar with the diversity of edible food products grown in Central Oregon. By promoting farms and those businesses that purchase from local farmers in the Central Oregon, HDFFA aims to strengthen the local food economy.
“For every dollar spent on local food from a farmer, $0.76 stays in the community compared to $0.28 when you shop at the commercial grocery store. This means that more dollars are circulating in our economy and having a larger impact on our food system,” states Katrina Van Dis, Executive Director of HDFFA.
The Local Food Challenge is supported by a Specialty Crop Block Grant from the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Community members can sign up for the Local Food Challenge now by visiting hdffa.org.
HDFFA is a 501(c)3 non-profit serving Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson Counties. The mission is to support a healthy and thriving food and farm network in Central Oregon through education, collaboration, and inclusivity.
